Lighting device



(Nd Mod el.) L. A. ROBERTS.

LIGHTING DEVICE.

Patented Nov. 12 1889.

m flm .n w. ,..mu i u h m UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS A. RoBERTs, OF OARBONDALE, nssreNon or ONE-HALF TO THOMAS H. WATTS, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

LIGHTING DEV|CE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 414,889, dated November 12, 1889.

' Application filed March 8, 1889. Serial No. 302,457. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS A. RoBERTs, of Oarbondale, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Lighting Lamps, Lanterns, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference markedthereon.

My invention relates to improvements in lighting devices for lamps or lanterns, such as enable the wick to be ignited without the necessity of opening the lamp or exposing the match or other lighter to currents of air outside of the lamp; and it relates more particularly to that class of such devices as carry a numberjiofj'pieces jjof igniting substance-such as short matcheswhich may be brought into proximity with the wick after having been ignited by being passed over a friction-surface or otherwise.

The objects of the invention are to simplify such devices and so arrange the parts for operation as that the remaining unburned i gnitors shallnormally be removed from proximity to the lighted wick and remain unaffected by the heat.

To these ends the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combination and arrangements of parts, to be hereinafter described, and pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of the lowerportion of a lantern having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar view at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the oil-pot and lighting device.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicatethe same parts.

For convenience I have illustrated the lighting device as applied to the base of an ordinary lantern-such as is in common use throughout the country-although, as will hereinafter appear, its application and use are not limited to such lanterns.

A indicates the oil pot or receptacle, having the wick-tube B and wick O at the center of the top, with the flange for attachment to the upper part of the lantern at the bottom. Passing through the oil-pot is a tube D, forming an open passage clear through, and in this tube Works a rod or shaft E, carrying the ignitors at the top and the key F, for manipulating and locking the rod, at the bottom. The igniting devices preferably consist of short matches, and in order to hold the same for proper presentation to the frictionsurface and wick I provide the upper end of the shaft with arms G-preferably four in number-in the form of a. cross, as shown, each having a longitudinal aperture therein for containing the butt-end of the match and a slot 9 on top, opening into the aperture, to facilitate therenewal of the match after use or when broken off. The rod or shaft E is somewhat longer than the distance between the top and bottom of the oil-pot to permit of an up-and-down movement, for a purpose to be presently explained, and to its extreme lower end is attached the key F, hereinbefore mentioned, preferably by means of a pivot, which permits it to swing up against the bottom of the oil-pot, as in Fig. 1, to "100k the rod in lowest position with the g below the burning wick or to swing down, as in Fig. 2, to permit the rod to be raised and facilitate the turning of the same, as will be readily understood. The outer edg of the key is preferably cam-shaped, as sho holds itself in locked position by fllctioll against the bottom of the oil-pot.

The operation of the device is as follows: The matches having been inserted in the holders and the lantern closed, when the time arrives for lighting the same, the key]? is turned down and the rod rotated until the head of one of the matches comes into contact with the side of the wick-tube, which latter is preferably corrugated or roughened to afford the proper friction -surface. lVhen the rod is pushed upward, the match-head being mean- 5 while held in contact with the wick-tube, thus igniting the same, the same movement brings it into close proximity to the wick, immediately igniting the latter, as will be readily understood. After the wick is ignited, the

rod is dropped back to normal position and the key turned up to lock the same and prevent all liability of the remaining matches being ignited, no matter how roughly the lantern is handled.

From the above it will be seen that the most important feature of my present invention lies in mounting the match or ignitorholders on a rod or base which is movable to bring the ignitors near to or remove them from proximity to theburning-point of the wick, thus removing all the matches or ignitors from the point of danger, in contradistinetion to simply mounting the matches on a rotary carrier, as has heretofore been done. It is obvious that the rod need not pass directly through the oil-pot, as it may pass up one side, and that the key for locking the same down may be dispensed with or other forms of locking device employed, and that the invention may be applied to other forms of lanterns or lamps without departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not wish to be limited to the exact structure herein set forth.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new is 1. In a lighting device for lamps, the combination, with the holders for the ignitors, of the rod to which they are secured, mounted in bearings 011 the lamp and movable toward and from the igniting-point of the Wick, sub stantially as described.

2. In a lighting device for lamps, the combination, with the holder for the ignitors, of the rod to which they are secured, mounted in bearings and movable longitudinally to bring said holders in proximity with the igniting-point of the wick, substantially as described.

3. In a lighting device for lamps, the combination, with the holders for the ignitors, of

the rotary and longitudinally-movable rod to which they are secured, mounted in bearings on the lamp, substantially as described.

4. In a lighting device, the combination, with the oil-pot and the tube secured thereto, of the rod passing through said tube, the ignitorholders on the'upper end of said rod and the vertically-movable key on the bottom,whereby said rod is capable of a rotary and longitudinal movement to bring the lighter-holders into proximity with the wick, and a frictionsurface in proximity to the wick, substantially as described.

5. In a lighting device, the combination, with the longitudinally-movable rod mounted in bearings and carrying the ignitors, of the lock for holding said rod retracted, substantially as described.

6. In a lighting device, the combination, With the longitudinally-movable rod carrying the ignitors at one end in proximity to the Wick, of the key pivoted to the opposite end of the rod for engagement with the lan:

tern-body to hold the rod retracted, substantially as described.

7. In a lighting device, the combination, with the wick-tube having the friction-surface on the side thereof, of the rotary rod having the ignitors secured thereto, mounted in bearings parallel to said friction-surface and movable longitudinally to ignite and bring said ignitors in proximity to the wick end, substantially as described.

LEWIS A. ROBERTS. WVitnesses:

G. W. KEAR, F. L. HITCHCOCK. 

